Tag: buddhist temple
Zenkoji Temple, The Heart and Soul of Nagano City
Japan, like many other countries, has its own indigenous nature-based religion: Shinto. These prehistoric practices involve worshipping the kami who inhabit trees, waterfalls, mountains, objects and even ancestors. While Shinto served Japan well for a very long...
Late Night Fortune Telling At Sensoji Temple
Founded in 645, Senso-ji is the oldest temple in Tokyo—and with 30 million visitors per year, it’s also one of the busiest. What is meant to be a spiritual exercise can quickly become one of trying to...
Things To Do (And Eat) in Nagano City
The main hall of Zenkoji Temple
As a mountainous prefecture dotted with small towns, an internet search for “things to do in Nagano” can bring up quite a geographical spread. And with ski resorts, onsen towns, historic districts...
Sofukuji Temple: Nagasaki’s Ming Dynasty Jewel
Ryugumon (Gate of the Dragon Palace)
Visiting Nagasaki, you’ll quickly see that it’s a very different kind of Japanese city. The centuries-old influences from China and Europe still remain as much a part of the cultural and physical...
The Mystical Taya Caves at Josen-ji Temple, Yokohama
Kanagawa Prefecture is Tokyo’s southern neighbour and home to some of the most popular day-trip locations, like the lively Yokohama and the spiritual sea-side towns of Kamakura and Enoshima. But with this notoriety inevitably comes the tourist crowds. For those looking for...
Daru-madness at О̄saka’s Katsuōji Temple.
Thousands of 'used' Daruma? Welcome to the mountain temple of Katsuō-ji.
One could say with confidence that the temple of Katsuō-ji could be classed as an 'under the radar' type of location. When people...
Okuno-in: Kōyasan’s Pathway Through Time
A line of Buddhist monks walk the stone path of Okuno-in.
In the footsteps of Kobo Daishi.
Deep in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture, shrouded by a rolling sea of dark-hued cedar, lies a...
The Jizo Statue: Japan’s most helpful Buddhist icon
As you journey across the Japanese countryside, riding the rails or walking the forest paths, there are a few things you’re likely to see time and again. One is the iconic torii, a red-painted wood or stone gate which marks the entrance...
